Synopsis
Samsung topped the list for paying the highest average salaries to outside directors among major South Korean companies, despite a 9.8% decrease from the previous year. This report highlights the competitive salary landscape in the corporate sector and Samsung's leading position within it.Key Takeaways
- Samsung Electronics had the highest average salary for outside directors.
- The average salary was 183.3 million won ($126,000).
- Samsung's salary figure saw a 9.8% drop from last year.
- 29 companies paid over 100 million won on average to outside directors.
- Samsung Group had the most affiliates in the high-salary category.
Seoul, March 12 (NationPress) Samsung achieved the highest average compensations for outside directors compared to major publicly listed firms in South Korea last year, as reported by a corporate monitoring entity on Wednesday.
Data from CEO Score indicated that Samsung Electronics disbursed an average of 183.3 million won (approximately US$126,000) for each outside director in 2024, leading among 247 companies assessed from the nation’s top 500 firms based on market capitalization.
Notably, despite this top rank, the amount represented a 9.8 percent decrease compared to the previous year, according to Yonhap news agency.
The average salary was derived by dividing the total compensation for outside directors by the annual average number of directors employed, as per CEO Score.
After Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom Co. was in second place with an average salary of 156.8 million won. SK hynix Inc. followed with 153.7 million won, then SK Corp. with 152 million won and SK Square Co. at 146 million won.
A total of 29 companies reported average annual salaries exceeding 100 million won for their outside directors last year.
Among these, 26 were subsidiaries of South Korea’s leading four business conglomerates: Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, and LG.
Samsung Group topped the list with 13 subsidiaries offering substantial salaries to outside directors, followed by SK Group with 9 subsidiaries. Hyundai Motor Group and LG Group each had 2 subsidiaries represented.
In other news, Samsung announced that a company official has been appointed chair of a significant technical group within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), an esteemed international organization focused on telecommunications standards development.
At a recent plenary meeting, Kim Youn-sun from Samsung Research, which specializes in information technology (IT) and telecommunications research and development (R&D), was selected as the head of the Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network (TSG RAN) within 3GPP, as stated by Samsung Electronics. His two-year term is set to commence in May.
